23rd May 2017: As we all know, Australia is a huge country. Distances between cities are large and driving is not for the faint hearted! I recently took a family trip to the western coast of Australia and started just north of Perth and took a road trip along the coast as far as Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef. What a journey it turned out to be!
Perth
Perth has a warm climate even in the winter. Its look is very clean and the city is full of friendly people. On our first day we took the red bus tour around the city and didn't even get off for the whole two hours. It gave us a great overview of the city and the highlights and distance involved - a great way to get started in any city.
On our tour, we discovered Kings Park and decided to explore the park the next day and we were rewarded with stunning views across the city. The park compliments the rest of the city; immaculate and very attractive, a theme wherever travelled here.
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Perth’s Botanical Gardens are definitely worth a look around, especially as they include the brilliant backdrop of the city. We spent the rest of our time here walking along the harbour and taking in the sights, with the odd stop for a coffee, wine or beer depending on the time of day; a great way to relax.
Fremantle
Just a 20 minute by taxi away from Perth we arrived at Fremantle, and wow, what a contrast. Our accommodation, The Be, was situated right in the middle of the harbour and was adorned with stunning views and gorgeous sunsets. ‘Freo’, as the locals call it, has a relaxing vibe and a slow pace; a lovely town to wind down, walk and relax. We loved it!
During our time here, we took the ferry to Rottnest Island, a must do from either Freo or Perth. The island is home to the Quokka, a cute animal only found on the island, the challenge is always to get a Quokka Selfie, and we managed it!
The island has no cars only a local bus and the odd service van, visitors simply walk or cycle. We choose to cycle around the whole island; quite an undertaking as it is 20km and a tad hillier than we were expecting, but definitely worth it! The beaches, bays and sea water were simply stunning; a real highlight of the whole trip.
The Pinnacles
Our journey north commenced and with the first stop in the coastal town of Geraldton, we decided to do a bit of sightseeing en route. The Pinnacles are located just over a two hour drive from Perth and contain a large area of rocks which stick skywards; some to a height of a few meters. At just 10 minutes off the main highway, they’re really worth a visit.
We finally arrived at Geraldton, a small town with a quaint seafront but not much else so I wouldn’t advise making a ‘special’ visit but it’s ideal after a six hour drive.
Monkey Mia
Today we headed to, what would be one of the highlights of our trip, Monkey Mia. Excited for our dolphin experience, we didn’t let the eight hour drive stand in our way! The resort itself is pretty isolated and almost 30 kilometres from Denham, the nearest town.
Accommodation here was expensive for the quality but, when it’s the only place in town, you have to just go with it. At 7.45am everyday a large crowd gather on the boardwalk waiting in anticipation to see the wild dolphins come near shore for food. The ‘wild’ nature of these dolphins is key to the unique experience at Monkey Mia, you can visit many places and join a dolphin encounter but the dolphins here are wild; they themselves choose whether or not they want to visit.
To give you a little more background about this place, feeding the dolphins here has been taking place for decades and is not enhanced to a fine art to ensure the dolphins are kept in a healthy, wild state. The dolphins here are fed three times each morning with a breakfast of just two fish each time and only the females are fed.
A few lucky people from the crowd are invited to feed them, whilst the others wait and watch at the waterside; a wonderful experience. During the day, the white sand beach is there for your enjoyment and the dolphins are often seen just cruising around. Final thoughts here? Monkey Mia is a long way off the main highway but definitely worth the journey.
Road to Exmouth
After two relaxing nights, and no driving, it was time to start the longest leg of our journey and travel the almost 800km to Exmouth, one of the gateways to the Ningaloo Reef. Obviously, we took the time to take advantage of a few sights along the way, including one of my highlights, Shell Beach. Just as its name suggests, Shell Beach is a beach made of shells and whiter than white.
The drive to Exmouth itself is easy as the roads are quiet. The speed limit is 110kph (around 70mph) and people keep to that limit. The countryside does have some hours of sameness and boredom but generally its forever changing from farm land, scrubland, desert looking land, termite hills and dead kangaroos, you see it all.
The roadhouses, or service stations as we know them, become your haven for petrol, drinks and food but more often than not the toilet! You see a lot of interesting things while driving cross country and we became quite fascinated with the different types of service stations; our favourite was the Billabong Roadhouse, stop in if you pass.
After a long day’s travelling, we arrived at the Mantarays Resort on the outskirts of Exmouth - a lovely hotel. Our two bed apartment overlooked the beach and was beautifully fitted out with the wooden balcony compete with gas BBQ; what more could you want in Australia?!
The small town of Exmouth has just two supermarkets, a nice bakery and a few nick-nack shops, it does however, have a large number of dive and boat shops. Exmouth’s tourism industry is all about taking people to the reef to explore. The different types of reef exploration activities is vast - from simple snorkelling or diving trips to swimming with whale sharks and hump back whales, depending on the season.
We decided to go whale sharking – an experience not to be missed! Our boat took us out for the whole day and our package included hotel pick up and drop off along with lunch, coffee and water. We set off at 7.30am and started with a snorkel, to gain your "water legs".
Only 10 people are allowed in the water at any one time and strict distances between you and the shark need to be adhered to, there’s certainly no touching! The most important thing I learned from the briefing was "…listen to me when you are in the water, the whale shark will simply appear from the blue of the sea from nowhere," he was so right! It is a memory I will never forget; a huge eight metre whale cruising past me from nowhere, so relaxed and peaceful. It then swam alongside it was 5 minutes before the groups swapped around.
How do they locate the whales? Spotter planes are above looking for them and when one decides to dive to the depths, they find another, seemingly on our day with no problem. I would recommend Exmouth as a great 'chill out' spot as you need to have a few days somewhere as driving six to eight hours every day or every other day is just too much.
Coral Bay
Off again, and this time to we were off to Coral Bay! Why stop there and not stay in Exmouth you ask? Well, Coral Bay offers the opportunity to snorkel the Ningaloo Reef straight off the beach; a rare opportunity and all without needing to take a boat. We were delighted with the mere two hour drive and upon arrival mid-afternoon we could view our small resort in daylight!
Consisting of one main hotel, the Ningaloo Reef Resort contained all types of people, with a backpackers hostel and a good number of very busy camp sites/ caravan parks. This might not paint the most attractive picture but we loved the place. The beach here goes out at ankle height for around 30 metres before dropping suddenly into the reef. This stunning location is completed by coral and an abundance of fish. The water is crystal clear and warm, made so much more beautiful by its beach of beautiful sand. Here we snorkelled a few times a day and saw more dolphins right by the beach front along with rays in the shallows; quite a place.
The accommodation here was expensive for the quality, and is a sure case of supply and demand.
Kalbarri
Two nights of blissful relaxation and it was time to head back to Perth. With an almost 1000km journey ahead of us, it was best to stop again and this time we chose Kalbarri. This coastal town is surrounded by National Park and offers stunning scenery including gorges, rivers, beaches completed by stunning rugged coastal scenery. It was a great choice and, whilst different from our beach centric journey so far, it was equally as beautiful.
One thing to be aware of and particularly bad in Kalbarri is flies. They are, at times, numerous, persistent and very annoying, the amount can vary during the year but fly nets can help.
We particularly enjoyed a boat trip up the Murchison River with a spot of wildlife spotting and included lovely views of Ospreys and other birds. Not expensive and very worthwhile and completely free, you’re rewarded here by amazing sunsets; very special.
Back in Perth, we returned our hire car and headed back home on our flight to Heathrow. If you've been inspired by my trip, take a look at my itinerary an do it for yourself!
